How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval ...
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How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. The book shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. It offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes such as tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.Less

Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan

Eric Rath

Published in print: 2010-02-12

How did one dine with a shogun? Or make solid gold soup, sculpt with a fish, or turn seaweed into a symbol of happiness? This look at Japanese culinary history delves into the writings of medieval and early modern Japanese chefs to answer these and other questions, and to trace the development of Japanese cuisine from 1400 to 1868. The book shows how medieval “fantasy food” rituals—where food was revered as symbol rather than consumed—were continued by early modern writers. It offers the first extensive introduction to Japanese cookbooks, recipe collections, and gastronomic writings of the period and traces the origins of dishes such as tempura, sushi, and sashimi while documenting Japanese cooking styles and dining customs.

This essay follows the iguana, an indigenous genus of herbivorous lizards, to the Caribbean dinner table, from the fifteenth century to the present. Inspired by historian Jerry Bentley’s scholarly ...
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This essay follows the iguana, an indigenous genus of herbivorous lizards, to the Caribbean dinner table, from the fifteenth century to the present. Inspired by historian Jerry Bentley’s scholarly contributions to questions of cultural encounters, the essay argues for the importance of indigenous foods in complex, often ambiguous, and consistently nuanced processes of cultural interactions between indigenous peoples and transplanted Europeans, Asians, and Africans. The story of how and why the iguana consistently appeared in the region’s foodways provides a critical perspective on the history of globalization in the Atlantic world. Mapping the variety of these culinary experiences can also reveal insights into the Caribbean’s changing ecology and the role of indigenous beliefs and African interpretations in the eco-cultural encounters that reshaped the flavors and choices of the region.Less

Eating the World : The Iguana’s Tale of Caribbean Ecology and Culinary History

Candice Goucher

Published in print: 2017-06-30

This essay follows the iguana, an indigenous genus of herbivorous lizards, to the Caribbean dinner table, from the fifteenth century to the present. Inspired by historian Jerry Bentley’s scholarly contributions to questions of cultural encounters, the essay argues for the importance of indigenous foods in complex, often ambiguous, and consistently nuanced processes of cultural interactions between indigenous peoples and transplanted Europeans, Asians, and Africans. The story of how and why the iguana consistently appeared in the region’s foodways provides a critical perspective on the history of globalization in the Atlantic world. Mapping the variety of these culinary experiences can also reveal insights into the Caribbean’s changing ecology and the role of indigenous beliefs and African interpretations in the eco-cultural encounters that reshaped the flavors and choices of the region.

The Puerto Rican cuisine has been radically transformed during the past fifty years. Foods and activities previously accepted as part of an inevitable routine are now regarded as voluntary in nature, ...
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The Puerto Rican cuisine has been radically transformed during the past fifty years. Foods and activities previously accepted as part of an inevitable routine are now regarded as voluntary in nature, dictated not by necessity but by personal preference and choice. The introduction and mixing of non-Caribbean dishes into the menus of restaurants specializing in native cuisine likewise illustrates the changing face of Puerto Rican cooking. Despite all the changes in the country's cuisine, certain elements in the island's culinary history have remained constant and coherent. Certain agricultural products as well as traditional Puerto Rican cooking are still present in their cuisine. The combination of new influences and experiences in Puerto Rican cooking will result in the redefinition or reinvention of culinary maxims.Less

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Cruz Miguel Ortíz Cuadra

Published in print: 2013-10-14

The Puerto Rican cuisine has been radically transformed during the past fifty years. Foods and activities previously accepted as part of an inevitable routine are now regarded as voluntary in nature, dictated not by necessity but by personal preference and choice. The introduction and mixing of non-Caribbean dishes into the menus of restaurants specializing in native cuisine likewise illustrates the changing face of Puerto Rican cooking. Despite all the changes in the country's cuisine, certain elements in the island's culinary history have remained constant and coherent. Certain agricultural products as well as traditional Puerto Rican cooking are still present in their cuisine. The combination of new influences and experiences in Puerto Rican cooking will result in the redefinition or reinvention of culinary maxims.

In the West, we have identified only four basic tastes—sour, sweet, salty, and bitter—that, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the ...
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In the West, we have identified only four basic tastes—sour, sweet, salty, and bitter—that, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the past century, an additional flavor has entered the culinary lexicon: umami, a fifth taste impression that is savory, complex, and wholly distinct. Combining culinary history with research into the chemistry, preparation, nutrition, and culture of food, this book encapsulates what we know to date about the concept of umami, from ancient times to today. Umami can be found in soup stocks, meat dishes, air-dried ham, shellfish, aged cheeses, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes, and it can enhance other taste substances to produce a transformative gustatory experience. Researchers have also discovered which substances in foodstuffs bring out umami, a breakthrough that allows any casual cook to prepare delicious and more nutritious meals with less fat, salt, and sugar. The implications of harnessing umami are both sensuous and social, enabling us to become more intimate with the subtleties of human taste while making better food choices for ourselves and our families.Less

Umami : Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste

Ole MouritsenKlavs Styrbæk

Published in print: 2014-06-03

In the West, we have identified only four basic tastes—sour, sweet, salty, and bitter—that, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the past century, an additional flavor has entered the culinary lexicon: umami, a fifth taste impression that is savory, complex, and wholly distinct. Combining culinary history with research into the chemistry, preparation, nutrition, and culture of food, this book encapsulates what we know to date about the concept of umami, from ancient times to today. Umami can be found in soup stocks, meat dishes, air-dried ham, shellfish, aged cheeses, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes, and it can enhance other taste substances to produce a transformative gustatory experience. Researchers have also discovered which substances in foodstuffs bring out umami, a breakthrough that allows any casual cook to prepare delicious and more nutritious meals with less fat, salt, and sugar. The implications of harnessing umami are both sensuous and social, enabling us to become more intimate with the subtleties of human taste while making better food choices for ourselves and our families.

The first chapter deals with Boston's wealthy elite. They were the first to demand new kinds of public dining options. Though Americans had been scornful of European cultural models as enervating ...
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The first chapter deals with Boston's wealthy elite. They were the first to demand new kinds of public dining options. Though Americans had been scornful of European cultural models as enervating and corrupting, wealthy Bostonians increasingly looked to French modes for inspiration when it came to sophisticated dining. In the 1820s, Boston's upper class, in their role as “patrons of culture” organized the construction of the Tremont House in Boston. The main attraction of this Boston institution was its dining room and the opulent, heavily French-influenced cuisine it produced. In this chapter, the author examines the venue of the Tremont House and other luxurious public dining rooms that soon arose to compete against it for the patronage of the elites. In such venues, the Boston elite demonstrated itself to be a republican aristocracy and strove to enact social and cultural codes that, it hoped, would stabilize society. But these very codes also underscored, and in some ways facilitated, fluidity and mobility and thus undermined social and cultural hierarchies.Less

Filet de Boeuf at the Tremont House : Luxury Hotel Dining Rooms

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

The first chapter deals with Boston's wealthy elite. They were the first to demand new kinds of public dining options. Though Americans had been scornful of European cultural models as enervating and corrupting, wealthy Bostonians increasingly looked to French modes for inspiration when it came to sophisticated dining. In the 1820s, Boston's upper class, in their role as “patrons of culture” organized the construction of the Tremont House in Boston. The main attraction of this Boston institution was its dining room and the opulent, heavily French-influenced cuisine it produced. In this chapter, the author examines the venue of the Tremont House and other luxurious public dining rooms that soon arose to compete against it for the patronage of the elites. In such venues, the Boston elite demonstrated itself to be a republican aristocracy and strove to enact social and cultural codes that, it hoped, would stabilize society. But these very codes also underscored, and in some ways facilitated, fluidity and mobility and thus undermined social and cultural hierarchies.

The fourth chapter discusses how, in the last decades of the century, as shifting mealtimes successfully postponed the main meal until after the workday was complete, a wider range of mixed-gender ...
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The fourth chapter discusses how, in the last decades of the century, as shifting mealtimes successfully postponed the main meal until after the workday was complete, a wider range of mixed-gender cafés opened that specialized in providing more relaxed evening meals to working- and middle-class Bostonians eager to take advantage of new opportunities for commercialized leisure. Many establishments, owned by the city's now even more heterogeneous population of immigrants, specialized in “ethnic” or foreign foods, fostering ethnic-class enclaves within a larger urban environment. Indeed, opening a restaurant represented an entrée to entrepreneurship and an avenue of economic mobility for immigrant proprietors. The city's growing assortment of ethnic restaurants helped to expose Bostonians of all backgrounds to new tastes and dining rituals. Throughout the nineteenth century, Boston's restaurants thus contributed to a dynamic consumer-oriented public culture and shaped a new understanding of the role of difference in American society and culture.Less

Roast, Chop Suey, and Beer : Cafés

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

The fourth chapter discusses how, in the last decades of the century, as shifting mealtimes successfully postponed the main meal until after the workday was complete, a wider range of mixed-gender cafés opened that specialized in providing more relaxed evening meals to working- and middle-class Bostonians eager to take advantage of new opportunities for commercialized leisure. Many establishments, owned by the city's now even more heterogeneous population of immigrants, specialized in “ethnic” or foreign foods, fostering ethnic-class enclaves within a larger urban environment. Indeed, opening a restaurant represented an entrée to entrepreneurship and an avenue of economic mobility for immigrant proprietors. The city's growing assortment of ethnic restaurants helped to expose Bostonians of all backgrounds to new tastes and dining rituals. Throughout the nineteenth century, Boston's restaurants thus contributed to a dynamic consumer-oriented public culture and shaped a new understanding of the role of difference in American society and culture.

Restaurant Republic examines the nascent restaurant landscape in Boston in its entirety, from the most plebian of eateries to the extremely elite and refined. Focusing on the rise of commercial ...
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Restaurant Republic examines the nascent restaurant landscape in Boston in its entirety, from the most plebian of eateries to the extremely elite and refined. Focusing on the rise of commercial dining in one specific city provides the opportunity to systematically explore the varied networks of public dining venues that catered to distinct groups of Americans. The story of why Americans embraced dining out and the wide variety of ways in which they began to do so is an important one. Restaurants were a major part of a growing trend in urban public venues dedicated to consumer leisure in the nineteenth century. Along with theatres, department stores, and hotels, restaurants provided a public stage at a time when, still fresh from their revolution, Americans were eager to enter into the public sphere and define themselves as a people. But perhaps more than these other public commercial spaces, restaurants were also sharply differentiated. Thus, the study of restaurant dining in this period provides an opportunity to cast new light on how Americans attempted to balance the revolutionary ideal of egalitarianism against a growing capitalist consumer culture that both reflected and contributed to social hierarchy.Less

Restaurant Republic : The Rise of Public Dining in Boston

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

Restaurant Republic examines the nascent restaurant landscape in Boston in its entirety, from the most plebian of eateries to the extremely elite and refined. Focusing on the rise of commercial dining in one specific city provides the opportunity to systematically explore the varied networks of public dining venues that catered to distinct groups of Americans. The story of why Americans embraced dining out and the wide variety of ways in which they began to do so is an important one. Restaurants were a major part of a growing trend in urban public venues dedicated to consumer leisure in the nineteenth century. Along with theatres, department stores, and hotels, restaurants provided a public stage at a time when, still fresh from their revolution, Americans were eager to enter into the public sphere and define themselves as a people. But perhaps more than these other public commercial spaces, restaurants were also sharply differentiated. Thus, the study of restaurant dining in this period provides an opportunity to cast new light on how Americans attempted to balance the revolutionary ideal of egalitarianism against a growing capitalist consumer culture that both reflected and contributed to social hierarchy.

Simply expressed, the book is a history of Kentucky cookbooks. The cookbooks considered include those written by authors with roots in Kentucky or produced by Kentucky-based groups such as churches, ...
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Simply expressed, the book is a history of Kentucky cookbooks. The cookbooks considered include those written by authors with roots in Kentucky or produced by Kentucky-based groups such as churches, schools, homemaker association, service organizations, and others. The text is accompanied by an extensive bibliography of Kentucky cookbooks. Following an introductory discussion of cookbooks and their recipes, chapters are arranged chronologically, starting with a discussion of the earliest Kentucky cookbook, The Kentucky Housewife, written by Mrs. Lettice Bryan and published in 1839. Succeeding chapters focus on Kentucky cookbooks produced after the Civil War; in the early twentieth century, especially those associated with the domestic science movement; in the Depression and New Deal eras; in the World War II era; in the mid-twentieth century, with an emphasis on convenience; and in the bicentennial era and beyond, with an emphasis on iconic Kentucky recipes. The last chapter considers contemporary cookbooks and the local food movement. In general, the chapters cover changes in cooking technology and ingredients; social changes related to race, ethnicity, and gender; evolving styles of cookbook and recipe presentation; and transformations in the social role of food. In a number of chapters, cookbooks written by African American Kentuckians are discussed.Less

Kentucky's Cookbook Heritage : Two Hundred Years of Southern Cuisine and Culture

John van Willigen

Published in print: 2014-08-15

Simply expressed, the book is a history of Kentucky cookbooks. The cookbooks considered include those written by authors with roots in Kentucky or produced by Kentucky-based groups such as churches, schools, homemaker association, service organizations, and others. The text is accompanied by an extensive bibliography of Kentucky cookbooks. Following an introductory discussion of cookbooks and their recipes, chapters are arranged chronologically, starting with a discussion of the earliest Kentucky cookbook, The Kentucky Housewife, written by Mrs. Lettice Bryan and published in 1839. Succeeding chapters focus on Kentucky cookbooks produced after the Civil War; in the early twentieth century, especially those associated with the domestic science movement; in the Depression and New Deal eras; in the World War II era; in the mid-twentieth century, with an emphasis on convenience; and in the bicentennial era and beyond, with an emphasis on iconic Kentucky recipes. The last chapter considers contemporary cookbooks and the local food movement. In general, the chapters cover changes in cooking technology and ingredients; social changes related to race, ethnicity, and gender; evolving styles of cookbook and recipe presentation; and transformations in the social role of food. In a number of chapters, cookbooks written by African American Kentuckians are discussed.

This introductory chapter discusses the rise of Chinese food in America's gastronomical landscape in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and sets out the book's central question: Why ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the rise of Chinese food in America's gastronomical landscape in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and sets out the book's central question: Why did Chinese food become so popular in America? It argues that the long and winding journey of Chinese food to Main Street America is not simply a culinary story but one that is intrinsically connected to larger historical developments that shaped America and the transpacific world. To comprehend the development of America's Chinese food is to understand the division of labor along the lines of culture and race within American society. The rise of Chinese food is also a story not just of marginalization and exploitation but one of the resistance and perseverance of Chinese Americans in the face of enormous hostilities.Less

Introduction : Chop Suey, The Big Mac of the Pre-Mcdonald’s Era

Yong Chen

Published in print: 2014-11-04

This introductory chapter discusses the rise of Chinese food in America's gastronomical landscape in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and sets out the book's central question: Why did Chinese food become so popular in America? It argues that the long and winding journey of Chinese food to Main Street America is not simply a culinary story but one that is intrinsically connected to larger historical developments that shaped America and the transpacific world. To comprehend the development of America's Chinese food is to understand the division of labor along the lines of culture and race within American society. The rise of Chinese food is also a story not just of marginalization and exploitation but one of the resistance and perseverance of Chinese Americans in the face of enormous hostilities.

In the epilogue of Restaurant Republic, the author traces the story of commercial dining in Boston into the early twentieth century and reviews the major points of the previous chapters. The findings ...
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In the epilogue of Restaurant Republic, the author traces the story of commercial dining in Boston into the early twentieth century and reviews the major points of the previous chapters. The findings will be useful to those interested in exploring relationships between food, culture, and identity in other cities, as well as in our own time.Less

Ice Cream at Howard Johnson’s

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

In the epilogue of Restaurant Republic, the author traces the story of commercial dining in Boston into the early twentieth century and reviews the major points of the previous chapters. The findings will be useful to those interested in exploring relationships between food, culture, and identity in other cities, as well as in our own time.

In the second chapter, as economic opportunities in Boston continued to proliferate and diversify, men in various occupations–from factory workers to bankers–turned to eateries to provide convenience ...
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In the second chapter, as economic opportunities in Boston continued to proliferate and diversify, men in various occupations–from factory workers to bankers–turned to eateries to provide convenience meals during the workday. It considers Boston's eating houses, which all aimed to provide straightforward noontime meals to men in a hurry. But there were many grades of eating houses, each catering to a different economic class of male diner. Class was also tied importantly to ethnic and racial difference. Distinctions in location, décor, service, and menu among various eating houses were all central to the standing of the patrons a particular establishment attracted, therefore significantly shaping a customer's dining experience. At the same time, all eating houses helped to construct new notions of urban masculinity and contributed to the creation of a more consumer-oriented society.Less

Bolted Beef and Bolted Pudding : Eating Houses

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

In the second chapter, as economic opportunities in Boston continued to proliferate and diversify, men in various occupations–from factory workers to bankers–turned to eateries to provide convenience meals during the workday. It considers Boston's eating houses, which all aimed to provide straightforward noontime meals to men in a hurry. But there were many grades of eating houses, each catering to a different economic class of male diner. Class was also tied importantly to ethnic and racial difference. Distinctions in location, décor, service, and menu among various eating houses were all central to the standing of the patrons a particular establishment attracted, therefore significantly shaping a customer's dining experience. At the same time, all eating houses helped to construct new notions of urban masculinity and contributed to the creation of a more consumer-oriented society.

The third chapter presents that nineteenth-century dining venues, including eating houses, were male spaces and typically inaccessible to women. But middle- and upper-class women, through their ...
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The third chapter presents that nineteenth-century dining venues, including eating houses, were male spaces and typically inaccessible to women. But middle- and upper-class women, through their expanding roles as the main consumers for their families and their participation in women's associations and reform activities, increasingly found themselves downtown in the middle of the day and in need of dining options of their own. In this chapter, the author turns to the growing number of dining establishments earmarked specifically for respectable, affluent women. These ladies’ dining venues strove to uphold mainstream gender ideals and distinguish themselves as appropriate for female use through their location, décor, and menu, all gendered as feminine. Nevertheless, by providing semipublic spaces for women to patronize, ladies’ eateries helped to draw women into the public sphere, thus posing a fundamental challenge to gender norms. The public and commercial dining activities of respectable women also became a vehicle for the discussion of anxieties associated with the rise of consumer pleasures.Less

Charlotte Russe in the Afternoon : Elite Ladies’ Eateries

Kelly Erby

Published in print: 2016-08-01

The third chapter presents that nineteenth-century dining venues, including eating houses, were male spaces and typically inaccessible to women. But middle- and upper-class women, through their expanding roles as the main consumers for their families and their participation in women's associations and reform activities, increasingly found themselves downtown in the middle of the day and in need of dining options of their own. In this chapter, the author turns to the growing number of dining establishments earmarked specifically for respectable, affluent women. These ladies’ dining venues strove to uphold mainstream gender ideals and distinguish themselves as appropriate for female use through their location, décor, and menu, all gendered as feminine. Nevertheless, by providing semipublic spaces for women to patronize, ladies’ eateries helped to draw women into the public sphere, thus posing a fundamental challenge to gender norms. The public and commercial dining activities of respectable women also became a vehicle for the discussion of anxieties associated with the rise of consumer pleasures.